History Lesson
by PetertheChameleon
Summary: Jeong Jeong, barely a man, stands before the golden statue of Avatar Roku and contemplates the life of a man he's never met. OneShot on Jeong Jeong's youth.


**A/N: **I've always wondered how Jeong Jeong knew it was Roku in his vision. I mean, there was no way he knew the guy personally. So had he already met Roku? Or was it just a really lucky/good guess? (after all, not too many mystical firebending geniuses would magically appear in place of the Avatar)

This is my take on why he recognized Roku, set in Jeong Jeong's youth.

Concrit welcome, particularly on my characterization of the Fire Nation. Rated T for absolutely no reason that I can justify.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Avatar -- that's Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko. I don't lay claim to the happy little OC Fire Sage, either -- anyone is totally welcome to go crazy with him.

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Jeong Jeong was awed.

There were so many historical men that he admired – mostly Fire Nation, and a few from other countries, though the latter he would never admit aloud. Before he was recruited to the navy, barely fourteen, he had been an avid lover of history – a time vaguely remembered as something half-pleasant. His father used to tell him not to dwell on what's passed. And then his father became the past. So Jeong Jeong continued to look back, collecting memories he never had.

But in all the hours spent devouring chronicles, all the time not devoted to rigorous training, Jeong Jeong had never encountered this man. The figure was nearly twice the young man's height, golden hands folded serenely over his stomach, ferocity etched in the lines of his face. The dignified statue seemed so conflicted, as if a war raged inside him. Torn between a hunger for tranquility and the hunger of the flames that were eating at him. Merely a man, yet at the same time so much more.

"I see you're admiring Roku," the Fire Sage said. Jeong-Jeong glanced over his shoulder at the smiling man, humbly bent at the waist, but the young lieutenant chose not to respond. The Sage was unruffled, approaching his side jovially. "He's the 'spirit' of this temple, so to speak. The whole temple's a shrine to him."

Roku. The name sounded familiar now, though Jeong Jeong had never seen an image of the man. As far as he could remember, Roku had been an Avatar. The final Avatar. Supposedly, he was the last obstacle between the Great Fire Lord Sozen and his rightful place as Emperor. But there was precious little information beyond that. Roku, and all Avatars, were despised figures.

Which led Jeong Jeong to wonder about the golden statue in front of him.

"I know what you're thinking," the middle-aged cleric said with a wink and a grin, convincing Jeong Jeong that he actually didn't. "Why in the world does one man get such a _big_ temple, all to himself?"

Well. Apparently he'd misjudged the Sage. One of his father's many proverbs floated through his mind: _when you assume a fool is always wrong, you become a fool yourself._

"The truth of the matter," the Fire Sage continued in his half-patronizing tone, "is that Roku was once a very powerful bender. The Avatar, in fact. And this used to be his home."

"I thought the Avatar was evil," said Jeong Jeong, feeling rather simple for saying such a thing at all. The statue in front of him displayed nothing evil. He was overpowering, intimidating, perhaps even fear-inspiring. But not necessarily evil. And the young man suspected the statue very much resembled its historical source.

"Oh, to be sure, the Avatar was," the Sage hastily amended. "But Roku was more than just the Avatar – he was the most powerful firebender in nearly a millennium. And we honor him for that."

Was there honor in just being a powerful firebender? Jeong Jeong stepped closer, trying to read more in that stern face. The Fire Sage told one story, but he felt there had to be another. Behind the half-century of lies must be a man who had become more than he was -- the last firebender to transcend his fate as a firebender. And Jeong Jeong could see the battle in his empty eyes. To strive for peace – serenity – when all one knows is anger and war. The Avatar Roku had to have been a great man, whether for good or evil.

He heard his tour guide shuffle uncomfortably behind him, coughing into the silence as if to break it before plunging in. "Also, sir, I am to let you know the ship is ready for departure. Your commander has recalled all hands." 

Jeong Jeong sighed and removed a hard steel helmet from the crook of his arm, once more shoving it on his head. The shore leaves were becoming shorter, the tours far longer. He had only been a soldier for two years, barely even a man, but he suspected he had already glimpsed the rest of his life. The life of anyone born into war.

"Sir?" the Fire Sage repeated, and Jeong Jeong forced himself to turn away from the golden Avatar, burning like fire in the light of the oil lamps. Roku was dead and his legacy destroyed, cut down by a world that couldn't hold on to him.

Jeong Jeong used to be an avid lover of history. But all of that was in the past now. And his father had always said not to dwell on what's passed.


End file.
